


Red As Rubies

by BroadwayItBitch



Category: IT (2017)
Genre: Gender Identity, M/M, Panic Attacks, Trans Male Character, Trans Male Richie Tozier, unsafe binding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-10
Updated: 2018-11-10
Packaged: 2019-08-21 14:08:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16577984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BroadwayItBitch/pseuds/BroadwayItBitch
Summary: Everyone knew him as Ruby Tozier, a beautiful young girl. He wanted to be known as Richard. Not… that name.





	Red As Rubies

**Author's Note:**

> Probs really bad, I'm sorry.
> 
> Also: The title has Richie's deadname. I wasn't really getting any creativity for the title, so I decided to use it. Plz don't hate me for that.

Richie wrapped the ace bandage around his chest. His breasts grew more, he’s most likely a C cup now. He didn’t want that. When he was done wrapping the bandage, he grabs his loose fitting t-shirt. Yes, even though Richie bound his chest, he still wore loose clothing just in case people saw his chest at all.

 

Richie slings his backpack onto his shoulder, and he heads out the door to school.

 

He keeps his head down the whole walk. Everyone knew him as Ruby Tozier, a beautiful young girl. He wanted to be known as Richard. Not… that name. He wanted to be more along the lines of handsome.

 

As he walks into the school, he sees his friend, Beverly Marsh, talking with a teacher. He walks up to her, tapping on her shoulder.

 

“Bev, we have a situation,” Richie whispers.

 

“Thanks for the talk, Mr. Andrews,” Bev says and she pulls Richie to an empty hallway. “What is it? Everything okay?”

 

“I… I need some… tampons,” Richie replies, trying to stay quiet.

 

“Okay. I got some, don’t worry,” Bev assures, burying her hand into her bag and taking out four tampons. “You run out again?”

 

Richie nods his head, “It’s about to start and my mom can’t buy more right now…” Richie starts to cry.

 

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Bev says, bringing Richie into a hug. “Try to make it through the day. I know you can do it.”

 

Richie wipes his eyes, his tears drying down slightly.

 

“Are you still gonna tell the others about… you know?” Bev asks. He and Bev had a plan to tell the Losers that he was trans.

 

“I dunno,” Richie replies truthfully. “They’ve known me as a girl for so long, what if they don’t accept me?”

 

“They will. Remember when I came out?”

 

Bev came out to the Losers about a month ago as pansexual. Everyone was very supportive. And Richie came out to her later that day. She’s the only one who knows about him.

 

“And if they don’t accept you, it’s their fucking loss,” Bev jokes.

 

“Yeah, I guess.”

 

“Hey, I gotta get to class, but I’ll see you at lunch.”

 

Bev shoots him a smile as they walk in different directions.

 

\--------------------

 

Richie was always the one to be at lunch, because his class before that was closest to the cafeteria. He never got food, mainly because he didn’t really like the school food.

 

All of the Losers start to trickle to their table. But he notices that Bev wasn’t there.

 

“Where’s Bev?” He asks, a little bit worried.

 

“She got detention for smoking in the locker rooms,” Stan explains, “I told her she shouldn’t have done it.”

 

Richie feels a wave of anxiety course through him. Crap. He couldn’t tell them without her.

 

“Hey, Ru, are you okay?” Ben asks.

 

Richie runs to the girl’s bathroom, not saying a word to the others.

 

Once in the bathroom, he starts pacing around. This wasn’t supposed to happen, he needed Beverly.

 

He’s heavily breathing. He hasn’t even had the ace bandage on for four hours. Maybe it’s a panic attack, along with the fact he’s binding unsafely, it’s a cocktail for disaster.

 

“Ruby?” Someone calls. Richie ducks his head, not wanting to be seen. “Ru, it’s just me.”

 

It’s Stan.

 

“S-Stan?” Richie croaks.

 

“Yeah, it’s okay. It’s just me,” Stan assures. “Hey, let’s get you outta here.”

 

Stan wraps his arm around Richie’s shoulders, leading him into an empty hallway.

 

“I-I-I’m sorry…” Richie whispers.

 

“It’s okay, bug. Let’s see… what are five things you can see?”

 

Richie looks around him.

 

“Y-you, the lights, the poster, your shirt and… and… my bracelets.”

 

“Good. Good,” Stan praises. “Now, four things you can… touch?”

 

“Um… the wall, your hands… my clothes and my necklace.”

 

“You’re doing so well,” Stan says, running his hands up and down Richie’s back. “Three things you can hear?”

 

“Your voice, my heartbeat and… the lights buzzing,” Richie lists off, his breathing starting to subside.

 

“Two things you can smell?”

 

“Your cologne and… and the lunch.”

 

“One thing you can taste?”

 

“The gum I had earlier.”

 

Stan engulfs Richie in a hug.

 

“It’s okay. It’s okay, bug,” Stan whispers as he cries. “C’mon, let’s get you home.”

 

Stanley helps Richie out of the school, going to the Jewish boy’s car.

 

As Stan drives out of the school, he notices that Richie is starting to breathe heavily again. He doesn’t know why.

 

“Ruby, what is it? Are you okay?”

 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just get me home.”

 

Stan doesn’t question it, and he drives to the Tozier household.

 

As he drives into the driveway, Richie runs out of the car and books it for the house. Stan follows him, finding Maggie and Richie on the couch.

 

“Richie, baby, are you wearing your binder?”

 

Richie frantically nods his head.

 

“Do you want me to take it off?”

 

The boy shakes his head no, “Need Stanny.”

 

Maggie and Richie notice the blond standing in the archway leading into the living room.

 

“Do you think it’s a good idea?” Maggie asks her son.

 

“It’s okay,” Stan says.

 

Richie stands up, running to the bathroom. Stan follows him, locking the door behind him.

 

Richie takes off his shirt, revealing the bandage.

 

“Whoa, Ruby-”

 

“Don’t call me that!” Richie snaps. He’s had enough of people calling him by his birth name. “Just shut up and help me.”

 

Stan awkwardly reaches for the end of the ace bandage, undoing the pins fastened to it and unwrapping it from Richie’s chest.

 

“Don’t look at my chest. Please?”

 

Stan just stares at Richie’s back. Because of the tightness of the bandage, there is a vibrant red mark where it was all around his back, his sides and his chest.

 

Richie slips his shirt back on, facing Stan.

 

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions,” Richie whispers.

 

“You don’t need to explain anything, bug,” Stan replies, placing his hands on the sides of Richie’s neck. “You can’t choose who you are. If you’re cisgender, transgender, you are you.”

 

“But-”

 

“No buts. We love you for you. Whether you are male, female, non-binary or anything in between.”

 

Richie reaches up and grabs Stan’s hand.

 

“How long have you known?”

 

“Since I can remember. I’ve been identifying more as a tomboy since then.”

 

Richie (as Ruby) was a tomboy, had his hair in a ponytail most of the time, wore pants rather than dresses and would always play rough with the boys. Then in seventh grade, he chopped his hair to a pixie cut, saying it was more ‘me’. Stan had his suspicions, but didn’t want to jump to conclusions.

 

“It’s hard, Stanny. Everyone calls me by my deadname, not Richie. Even teachers when they’re supposed to know that’s not my name,” Richie says, tears burning in his eyes. “And I know I didn’t tell you guys. I was scared.”

 

“Of what, bug?”

 

“Not being accepted. You hear what happens to trans kids in this town.”

 

Richie was right. Just last year, there were three kids in town that were driven away from Derry because of extreme bullying. All three of them were transgender.

 

“Well, I accept you, Richie,” Richie gasps. No one except his parents has used his name before. “And I’m sure the others will, too.”

 

Richie looks up to the slightly taller boy. Even though Richie was 5’5, Stan still towered over him by a few inches.

 

Stan leans down to place a kiss on Richie’s forehead.

 

“I love you, Rich.”

 

“Love you, too, Stanny.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'm sorry that I couldn't post on Sunday, I was working on assignments for school. But I'm back! I hope you all enjoyed!
> 
> Love, Abbey Elizabeth.


End file.
